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Arrival at the Sydney Opera House, Saturday 1st November

We decided that as a Southerly buster was predicted for Friday afternoon that I would paddle from Shelley Beach at Manly to Rose Bay so that no matter how windy Saturday was, the finish would be assured.

It was an easy paddle with northerly winds that turned gusty westerly after we finished for the day.

To get some photos I stopped at Chowder Bay which is on Middle Head. There is a navy wharf there with signs saying no trespassing. After I had paddled under it and was heading for the sand a bloke came down and told me these were naval waters and I was not to be there. My reaction was to say that they should put a sign up if that was the case. He said there were signs everywhere. I read one back to him, "No trespassing, navy land, keep off", or words to that effect. I said I was not on the land and did not intend to go there. He thought I was a smart arse so I hurried off.

The wind on Saturday was from the south but not strong. The waves from the boats on Sydney Harbour foiled my plan to stay dry but it was a very easy and enjoyable paddle.

The Queensland team met me at the wharf with banners and cheers. We pulled the kayak out, dragged it up to the waiting Minister Garrett, unpacked the letters in their individual plastic bags and put them in the big delivery bag.

He is a strong man. The bag was heavy but he handled it with no trouble. He congratulated me on my efforts, accepted the bag. I made a very brief speech for the cameras and the press and then Minister Garrett headed off with the bag over his shoulder. I liked the guy and I think just about very one who was there would agree with that.

The trip could not have been done without John Schulstad and John Williams. Thanks guys, you were great.

We had a reception at UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures. Details are below but it was recorded. This is great news as the presentations were excellent and what was said was very important.

Presentations at UTS

Down the Drain - is this the future of our Rivers?

4-6pm, Saturday 1 November 2008
Room 230, Level 2 (entry level Jones St), Building 10
University of Technology Sydney

Hosted by Institute for Sustainable Futures

• 4-4:05pm Intro by MC, Cate Faehrmann, Executive Director, NSW Nature Conservation Council
  
  
• 4:05-4:15pm Stuart White
  
  Professor Stuart White is the Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney. Stuart is internationally recognized for his work in water supply demand planning. He was project director for the "Review of Water Supply-Demand Options for South East Queensland" conducted for the Mary River Council of Mayors and completed in 2007.
  
  Topic: A sustainable urban water future in Australia
  
  
• 4:15-4:30pm Glenda Pickersgill
  Glenda Pickersgill is Vice President of the Save the Mary River Coordinating Group (STMRCG). Since the announcement of the proposed Traveston Crossing dam in Apr 2006 Glenda has been actively involved in research and campaign coordination roles with the Save the Mary River Group. When she is not campaigning, she is a grazier in the Mary Valley with her property 1 km upstream of the proposed dam wall location. For nearly twenty years Glenda's family have been farming sustainably and revegetating streambanks to improve habitat for the endangered Mary River Cod. Glenda's background is in agricultural science and resource management and she has also worked in environmental management in the mining industry for 18 years.
  
  Topic: Campaign to save the Mary River in SEQ - where to from here
  
  
• 4:30pm-4:45pm Professor Jean Joss
  Professor Jean Joss holds a Personal Chair in Biological Sciences at Macquarie University. She has been a student of vertebrate evolution for over 40 years and has been studying Australian lungfish for 25 years, initially populations from Tinana Creek (a tributary of the Mary River in SEQ) and the Burnett River to the north of the Mary. She has been spawning lungfish on campus at Macquarie University for 15 years. Recent projects focus primarily on development, particularly features associated with the fish to land vertebrate transition.
  
  Topic: The lungfish, its importance and what I believe the proposed dam will do to the population
  
  
• 4:45-5:15pm Steve Posselt
  Steve Posselt was born in Grafton on the Clarence River, one of East Coast Australia's few wild rivers. He is a civil engineer and has worked in the water industry since 1971.
  During this time he has been very active in the Australian Water Association including being convenor for Ozwater, Australia's largest water conference and exhibition.
  Steve founded a company called Watergates, a manufacturer of gates for water, which was successful both in Australia and overseas. He sold this to allow him to undertake his epic kayak journey from Brisbane to Adelaide. While writing his book about that trip he took time out to paddle up the Brisbane River, drag the kayak over the mountain and then paddle down the Mary River and back to Brisbane. This was because he felt compelled to help stop the Traveston Crossing dam.
  He has just completed almost 1000km paddling from Brisbane to Sydney to deliver thousands of protest letters to Peter Garrett. Steve will tell you why he does this.
  
  
• 5:15-5:45pm Questions & Discussion
  
  
• 5:45pm onward Drinks/Nibblies

Photos